Liz Truss has echoed the language of former US president Donald Trump as she called on her party to “make Britain grow again”.
The ex-prime minister, who was ousted from Number 10 after just 44 days following her disastrous mini-budget, made the remark when appearing at a packed out fringe event at the Conservative Party conference.
She said her successor, Rishi Sunak, had made “some progress” in recent weeks, with the watering down of the government’s net zero targets.
But she said he and the chancellor needed to “do more” because “it’s Conservative solutions, it’s Conservative arguments that are popular with the public, but it’s also those arguments that are going to deliver”.
Queues snaked around the Midland Hotel in Manchester to get into the event, with key figures of the right in attendance – from Tory former ministers like Dame Priti Patel and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg to former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.
With the discussion hosted by a GB News journalist, Ms Truss began her speech by praising the beleaguered channel, which has hit the headlines over the past week after misogynistic comments on air led to three presenters being suspended.
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“In my view, we need more economic journalism and we need more GB News challenging the orthodoxy, broadcasting common sense and transforming our media landscape, so long may it continue,” she said.
Moving onto her main message, the former leader said it was up to the government to “make life easier and better for families across our land”, claiming there were three things they could do now to “really change the agenda – “axing the tax, cutting the bills and building the homes”.
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With tax, Ms Truss reiterated her call to reduce corporation tax to 19% – a move she attempted in her short tenure that led to market turmoil – saying: “What we know is that economic growth and making Britain grow again is not going to be delivered by the Treasury, it’s not going to be delivered by more public spending.
“It’s going to be delivered by giving businesses the freedom they need to succeed.”
To cut bills, she revived her previous policy to drill for shale gas in the UK – despite questions over its safety and effectiveness – saying: “Some will say using our own gas is not environmentally friendly, but how environmentally friendly is it to rely on regimes abroad, who often have very poor records for our gas, to ship that gas into the United Kingdom, often at both environmental cost and financial?
“We are sitting on 50 years worth of sustainable gas. Can you imagine if we unleash that, what that would mean for households, what that would mean for businesses?”
And on building homes, Ms Truss called for a 500,000 a year target to be met, adding: “That won’t just mean people will find it easier to get into a home.
“People will find it easier to start a family because there will be more affordable housing. Employers will find it easier to employ people somewhere because their workers can afford homes.
“It will also save the government money…. because we will cut our housing benefit bill [and] we won’t need to intervene so much in the housing market because we are making the prices cheaper and that is fundamental to what these reforms should be about.”
She conceded her plans were “not necessarily easy for us to do”, but added: “We need to be prepared to do the difficult things because that is what will make Britain grow again.”
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
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Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.